2018 Broncos Season, Tight End Preview


We're just a few weeks from training camp, and about a month away from pre-season. so now is the time to start looking at this Broncos squad. In a series of pieces I'll be looking at each position group prior to the start of the pre-season. Today I'm looking at tight ends.

Players: Jake Butt, Jeff Heuerman, Troy Fumagalli, Austin Traylor, Brian Parker, and Matt LaCosse

2018 Outlook: Tight end hasn't been a big part of the Broncos' attack the past few years. In 2017, though the offense as a whole wasn't great, TE was almost absent. A.J. Derby, now in Miami, led the team with 31 targets, grabbing 19 for 224 yards and 2 TDs. Virgil Green, who is now with the Chargers, had 14 receptions for 191 yards and a TD on 22 targets. And that was in starting 16 games. As for TEs still on the team, Heuerman had nine receptions for 142 yards and two TDs on 21 targets and Traylor had eight receptions for 100 yards on 13 targets. But that's not a lot of production. However, the Broncos' potentially biggest weapon at TE was last year's fifth-round selection, Butt. But he didn't play as he was recovering from a knee injury. But he's back now, and the expectation is that he'll take the starting role. And there's great hope that Butt can become a weapon. That's why the Broncos snagged him in 2017. The Broncos also added Wisconsin product Fumagalli in this year's draft, so it's possible the team could go all Big Ten at TE this season with Butt (Michigan), Heuerman (Ohio State) and Fumagalli (Wisconsin). But none of that will matter if the position doesn't yield some production in the offense.

Key Question: Who starts and who makes the team? This unit is really a blank slate. While I'm leaning toward the three TEs mentioned above, it's hard to discount Traylor, who is a veteran and a good blocker. It may end up coming down to what the Broncos see in camp and in the pre-season. Heuerman has shown flashes in his two years with the team, and Butt has a lot of raw talent. The hope is that one of them emerges as a receiving threat and one that can help this offense take a step forward in 2018.

Prediction: I think Butt snags the starting job and is decent at times. I think it might be another year or two before he really takes off, but I'm a believer. And his work in early camps has done little to dissuade me from that thought. I also think the Broncos end up keeping three TEs, Butt, Heuerman and Fumagalli.

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